Game Thread GAME# 19: BLAZERS @ WARRIORS - NOVEMBER 23, 2018 - FRIDAY, 7:30 PM, NBCSNW

You're the MVP (most valuable poster) of this forum

 

We need to get this win and get things back on track. The Curryless Warriors have shown that they are very beatable. Dame should have a huge game in front of his family and friends. Yeah, I think we win this one and get back on track.

 

Been looking forward to that epic Damian Lillard/Quinn Cook matchup!

 

Everyone beats them nowadays and without Curry and Green they are very fragile. Think we can win this one comfortably.

 

Agreed. They are 4-6 in their last 10.....a shell of their former selves.

 

Hope that shellacking last night was enough to get them to start playing well again. Something has not been right on this road trip.

 

We were 2-1 against them last year and one of the wins was against a fully healthy team.

 

Try not to Jinx this next game.

 

Lillard 34.1 3P%... Wtf

 

But still 8-1 at home. They are a shell of themselves on the road - but that doesn't help us in this game.

Edit: sorry, that should be 8-2.

 

For years I've contended that Dame is not a great 3-pt shooter. One - he takes a lot of contested '3's. Two - he takes a lot of step back '3's. Neither of those circumstances result in high shooting percentages over the long term. So perhaps it is about the quality of look versus how well Dame can shoot when he is open. Regardless, he is taking them. There are times Dame gets "Lillard Time" hot that keeps his average up but those are offset by many nights of well below average 3-pt shooting given the volume he takes. In 18 games so far this season, 8 games have looked like this:

2-7
2-10
2-7
2-9
2-7
1-7
3-10
1-6

Of course there have been 'good' nights that offset that but 8 games out of 18, he is shooting .238 from 3-pt range. That is a fairly large percentage of games where there is abject brick laying.

Dame needs to shoot....but given the types of shots he is often taking, I've long submitted that there might be a better look created somewhere else if .238 is what is coming out of those shots some nights.

And before anyone gets their underwear in a bunch that this is a 'Dame-hater' post, try again. But there is a reality to his career 3-pt shooting percentage....whether it is because of the types of shots he takes (more likely) or that he just isn't as good of a consistent shooter as we would like to think he is.

 

I hate when this happens. When the team gets this out of sync, the first thing that pops into my head is "Ray Felton." If you recall, that team got off to a hot start before imploding.

 

My semi-educated guess: playing with big men who are "offensively challenged" has been an ongoing issue.

 

I agree. Dame is my favourite and he made me to become a Blazers fan. And he has his 10-15 Games per Season he is Shooting lights out, but overall he is not a good 3 point Shooter. Since the retool in 2015 he shot 37.5%, 37.0%, 36.1% and this year his 3 point shot has fallen to 34.1%.

 

his playoff statistics are even worse, 38.6% (good), 16.1% (terrible), 39.1% (good), 28.1% (very bad) and 30.0% (bad)

 

No doubt that Dame has off nights when he probably would be better advised to pass than to force up some of those contested or really deep 3 pt. shots. That said, I think as the leader of the team, that Dame feels the need to push things sometimes simply to help instill confidence in the team's role players. There have been ample times when Dame hitting a few threes has gotten the team rolling when they're in a scoring drought.

As far as Dame being, "not a great 3-pt shooter", I would have to completely disagree. I think his stats are pushed down a bit by the fact that he is one of the most closely guarded players in the league. Unlike some of the "great" three point shooters in the league like Klay Thompson, who are primarily catch and shoot guys who pop open 3 point jump shots, Dame has the ball in his hands most of the time and creates a lot of his shots coming off screens. His ability to hit those shots is at times uncanny. I'd say he's second only to Steph Curry in his ability to do those types of plays.

Speaking of the great 3 pt. shooter, Klay Thompson, so far this season his been mostly a brick-layer from three. He's had one monster night where he posted 14-24 from three, but he's also gone 1-8, 0-2, 1-6, 1-6, 1-5, 0-4, 1-5, 1-4, 5-16, 0-5, 2-11, 3-11 and 3-8. I'll guarantee you that most of the shots he's been missing are nowhere near as tough as the ones Dame is forced to take.